John Carr - Kalvan Kingmaker

"The Hostigi economy, which would have been a disaster for a lesser man, became a triumph of public relations for Kalvan. You can Dralm-damned be sure that the soldiers quit their grumbling about 'serf's work' after that. I would just like to know how damn many of Styphon's House upperpriests were trampling through the ruined fields of Hos-Harphax!"

"Not a single one," Sirna responded, "nor upperpriests of Dralm either."

"Of course," Aranth said, "after all, priests have to keep their hands clean in this world as preparation for the next."

As they approached Hostigos Town, Sirna turned her horse to the side of the road to let a big canvas covered wagon go by in the opposite direction. Then they were over the slight rise and she could see Hostigos Town down a dip and spread over a series of rolling hills. Right below the Gap and Tarr-Hostigos was the Royal Army encampment, which looked to be about a quarter the size of the town.

"That's a big army camp," Sirna said. "It's more than doubled in size since last year."

"Sure it has. Kalvan had half the army working on this road, another quarter billeted all over Hos-Hostigos, and the rest drilling and marching. Now that it's almost winter he wants them where he can keep his eye on them. Other than the Army of Observation, which Captain-General Hestophes is commanding, the rest of the Royal Army is right here. Look at his defensive perimeter! He's got a series of earthworks all around with gun batteries, too."

"Hostigos Town looks to be growing as well," Sirna said, trying to divert their talk from things military, which she knew very little about, and cared even less.

"It has been growing almost weekly. When Kalvan first arrived over a year and a half ago, there were only about ten thousand people living in Hostigos Town, now the population's grown to over twenty-five thousand, not counting military personnel. It's hard to get a reliable census since there are so many transients."

"Why so fast?" Sirna found it interesting that the Team's military expert knew more about the Town of Hostigos than all the Study Team sociologists put together. Of course, the idea of mingling with actual

Hostigi was unthinkable, to the sociologists, and reeked of Outtime-Identification Syndrome. Sirna was beginning to think it was because they didn't want to confuse their theories with facts. Or, Styphon forbid, actually get to know the people they studied. Of course if they had to bug-out in a hurry, as Ranthar put it, it could hurt to have to leave friends behind. Still, she'd rather face that pain, than adopt the studied indifference of the University'professionals.'

"Because Hostigos Town-soon to-be City-is now the capital of a Great Kingdom and the headquarters for the largest standing army this time-line has ever known. It's a military boom town, engineered by King Kalvan and paid for by Styphon's House temple loot."

"What happens when Styphon's gold runs out?"

"Kalvan has a saying, which I learned from Harmakros, I will try to paraphrase, 'while gold can't always get you good soldiers, good soldiers can always get you gold.'"

"But doesn't that just make Kalvan a Great Pirate, rather than a Great King."

"Sorry, I was just being amusing at Kalvan's expense; though there is more truth to that maxim than the military layman would understand. I think if Styphon's House would just leave Kalvan alone the economy of Hos-Hostigos would take care of itself. Turn that University artificer crowd of his loose and you would see more action on the Street of Coopers than you see now on Army payday at the Street of Lamps."

Sirna was glad it was dark out so that Aranth wouldn't see her blush. There was little prostitution on Home Time-Line where Citizens had a chance to freely express their naturalistic impulses; Sirna found it a rather unseemly statement on the condition of women's rights on Kalvan's Time-Line. Not that she thought it was her duty to personally lash out at any male who appeared to disregard those rights as Varnath Lala did.

A few moments later they trotted off the Great King's Highway, which in town turned into the single lane of Tigos Road. They passed one of the new roads, Princess Demia's Street, and across Tanner's Way down into Hostigos Town proper where most of the inns and taverns were located. The One-Eyed Owl tavern was right across from the Crossed Halberds, another Royal Army favorite or so she'd heard.

Even in the rain, which had started up again, there were carts and wagons moving through the streets and a steady stream of cloaked men and armed guards. "Make way, make way," cried one group of armored men, wearing the blue capes of the Hostigos Town watch. They also carried sharp-bladed halberds and a foot long oak club at their belt securely tied by leather thongs.

As they boarded their horses at a nearby stable, Sirna said, "It's strange to think that on most every other Aryan-Transpacific, Styphon's House Subsector time-line most of these people are dead and Hostigos Town is in ruins, or a shadow of its former self. Is this right?"

"Don't know," Aranth said, "but these people are very much alive and plan to continue on so."

"I just wish there was more we could do to help them. Is it right that we keep the secret of longevity from Outtime peoples, too?"

"Don't know about that either. I'm not at all convinced it's the length of a life that counts. Look at most of that University crowd out at the Foundry. If I had my choice between a lifetime with that gang, or a much shorter lifetime here; you wouldn't need to be a gambling man to tell which side I'd pick."

"A lifetime with Varnath Lala and Lathor Karv would be torture indeed!" Sirna laughed.

"Most truly spoken, Sirna," Aranth said, as he paused to whisper something into the ear of a very young girl less than half his size. The girl was provocatively dressed and her painted mouth dropped open at Aranth's words. She ran off in haste, her clogs banging on the wet cobblestones, as he opened the door to the One-Eyed Owl.

Sirna asked, "What was that all about?"

"An under-age solicitor-actually not very common in Zarthani towns, but especially rare here. I just reminded her of Kalvan's punishment for solicitation. He's a bit of a prude on these matters."

And so am I, thought Sirna, even though she was a neophyte when it came to outtime studies. She supposed she had a lot to learn, but was sure that no degree of experience or sophistication would allow her to accept the practice of children selling themselves on the street.

Inside was a score of overburdened and undersized tables with about half of one of Kalvan's Royal regiments in attendance. There were shouts of greeting from more than a couple tables, which showed that Aranth's trade was well known here. Aranth pointed to a table where two soldiers and several-for lack of a more polite term-harlots were sitting.

With a quick side-step here and there Sirna managed to make it to the table with both dignity and skirts intact. Aranth introduced her to General Alkides and a Colonel Democriphon, a dashing young soldier with flowing golden locks and a handsome face worth writing home about. After additional chairs were obtained by the tavern keeper, she listened with more fascination than she would have ever believed possible to Democriphon's tale of King Kalvan's charge into the Styphoni right wing at Phyrax.

Maybe Aranth was right; there was more to outtime travel than University inter-disciplinary shoot-outs and inter-departmental feuding.

Sitting in a circle with a dozen tribesmen, Ranjar Sargos was shaking all five of the knucklebone dice for one last roll. He made his throw, hoping his luck would change and he would win the pile of silver coins and quarter-cut ingots spread before the campfire. While the dice were still in the air, his youngest son, Larkander came crashing into the clearing, knocking over wine bags, mead kegs, silver coins and dice alike.